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In a fire-charged day in Senate Finance (see Part 3), a day of which we have barely scratched the surface, there were many memorable quotes. However, we have chosen Senator Walter Stosch (R-12, Henrico), whose pithiness underlined a severe truth during the debate on education freedom in Virginia. Responding to committee statists, who want to preserve the failing government-run school system and block, at all costs, competition and access to better schools for lower-income families by claiming the privately funded scholarship bill was a backdoor voucher program, Senator Stosch said the statements were nothing more than . . .

inappropriate arguments because they don’t make sense any more so than a tax credit for a “green job” is a voucher. …

Ouch! That had to hit committee statists right, smack in between their liberal sensibilities.

Session hasn’t started yet and already we have a Quote of the Day. However, it comes as no surprise as today is the second Tuesday of the month which means it’s Tuesday Morning Group Coalition meeting day. TMG President and dear friend John Taylor supplies it, and it wins not only for its self-deprecating humor, but because it mentions . . . us!

At downtown Richmond’s Bull & Bear Club, high atop the James Center in the capital’s financial district, Taylor, whose sense of humor is matched only by his assured and ready opinions on constitutional government (see his Tea Party speech), recounted a story relevant to a recent cabinet appointment by Governor-elect Bob McDonnell. But first, the punchline:

Years ago the Family Foundation sponsored a conference on education. … They asked me to moderate a panel — mainly because they didn’t want me to speak!

Now, about that story: On the panel that Taylor moderated was none other than Senator Henry Marsh (D-16, Richmond), one of the General Assembly’s most obstinate liberal reform obstructionists on education as well as other issues. Marsh, who is black, outrageously said that after all the hardships to desegregate public schools, the school choice and charter school movement was the effort to re-segregate public schools. After he finished his demagoguery, a young black man on the panel, of whom Taylor was not familiar, stood up and said, (from Tertium Quids):

Where once George Wallace stood in the schoolhouse doorway to keep black kids out, some politicians (like Marsh) were now standing in the doorway to keep them from leaving.

Marsh left the meeting very soon afterwards.

That young man was Gerard Robinson, nominated yesterday by Governor-elect McDonnell to be Secretary of Education (Norfolk Virginian-Pilot). Come to think of it, even though it was years ago, Secretary Robinson’s remark to Senator Marsh, makes a dynamite QOD. Sorry, John.

Our Quote of the Day normally is reserved for General Assembly session (during which there are too many to post). But tonight at Richmond International Airport, at the GOP ticket’s second-to-last stop on its final fly through tour, attorney general candidate Ken Cuccinelli again stole the show, earning himself yet more ink.

You know the Democrats are desperate for help when they even fly Tim Kaine into Virginia to campaign for them!

Fun aside, and there was much of it, the event was serious, with exhortations to not let up over the next 24 hours. Gubernatorial candidate Bob McDonnell and Lt. Governor Bill Bolling joined Senator Cuccinelli in asking the crowd of about 300 to do the blocking for them, to be the boots on the ground, to continue calling and e-mailing and Facebooking and Twittering friends, family, neighbors and colleagues; to man the polls tomorrow and give people rides to vote; to knock on doors and volunteer. Still lots to be done was the message. Taking nothing for granted, these men, not after eight years in the desert.

There were two surprises: Senator Jill Vogel (R-27, Winchester) emceed the event and Jeanine McDonnell, the Republican’s eldest daughter and Iraq War vet (Army Lt., platoon leader), who first starred in the campaign as the his designated introducer and later in a campaign ad, sang the national anthem. What a great voice! Tomorrow night, she and the McDonnell family hope to be singing another song.  

From one of our favorite senators, Janet Howell (D-32, Reston), who previously graced the QOD when she admitted she didn’t have to read a bill to vote on it, comes this gem today, while chairing the Privileges and Elections Committee:

When presenting a bill, Delegate Mark Cole (R-88, Spottsylvania) admitted it had a fiscal impact of around $75,000. But, he said, ”it’s already in the House budget.”

Senator Howell, in the leadership of the Senate’s  majority party and member of the Finance Committee, asked:

“Is it in the Senate budget?”

Umm, senator, the Senate famously and deliberately refused to pass a budget by its deadline last week (see Washington Examiner, here). Let’s see. Senator Howell doesn’t read the bills upon which she votes and doesn’t pay attention in Finance Committee. Yes, we’re in good hands.

Below is our interview with House Majority Leader Morgan Griffith (R-8, Salem). We submitted the questions to him via e-mail and he replied and returned them to us. Here it is in its entirety — as the questions were submitted and as his answers were written.

Familyfoundationblog: Mr. Majority Leader, thank you for agreeing to do this interview! You are the first member of the leadership of either party or chamber to agree to an interview at familyfoundationblog.com.

The House, for years, has passed, often with huge bipartisan majorities, many of our priority pro-life, pro-family bills. Thank you for your leadership and the caucus’ resolve in those matters. With that ground covered, so to speak, we thought we’d ask you about some other issues. We, and our readers, are looking forward to your answers and greatly appreciate your participation. Hope we haven’t built up expectations and the pressure. …

Familyfoundationblog: What big issue or reform would you like to see the caucus embrace and lead the General Assembly in passing? For example, SOQ reform? A taxpayer bill of rights?  Budget reform?  Real estate tax reform? Or something else entirely?

Majority Leader Morgan Griffith: In the long-term, it is the budget that poses the greatest challenge for us. Simply put, some key core services are growing at an unsustainable rate. With its budget doubling over the last decade, Virginia is among the top five states for spending growth.  Unfortunately, it will probably take a strong Republican governor, one committed to thoroughly reexamining the role, size, and scope of state government before this can be successfully addressed.

Familyfoundationblog: The House Republican majority has decreased over the last few cycles. Why is the GOP losing seats and how does the caucus plan to reverse the trend?

Majority Leader Morgan Griffith: Explaining why we’ve lost seats is complex, but the short answer is a combination of changing demographics in some parts of the state, the national political climate, and an inconsistent campaign operation overall.

We are preparing for an aggressive campaign to reclaim seats, and I have been concentrating my efforts on lining up strong candidates in Republican-leaning seats we do not currently hold. I am encouraged by our early work on this, and I think we’re going to have some very exciting contests this year as a result.

Familyfoundationblog: Last session Delegate Ben Cline’s (R-24, Amherst) online spending transparency bill, which would have put the budget online in a Google-like, user-friendly format, so an average Joe could look up any state expenditure, did not make it out of sub-committee. Several states have adopted such an online budget. We think budget transparency is important in general to generate public trust of government, but also to shine the sun on some nefarious groups that get state contracts, such as Planned Parenthood. What do you think the chances of passing such a bill are this session? Will it be a priority of the leadership? Most Virginians favor this and some think the GOP has ceded the issue for the Governor to carry out on his own.

Majority Leader Morgan Griffith: This year, the House approved Delegate Cline’s Budget Transparency Bill (HB 2285) by a vote of 99 to 0. We have passed budget transparency measures previously (the issue has long been a priority of Senator (Walter) Stosch (R-12, Henrico), and former Delegate (Michelle) McQuigg spearheaded this effort in the House). As Chairman of the FOIA Commission, I know all-too-well that Virginia’s government needs to improve the user-friendliness of its reforms and transparency measures.

Familyfoundationblog: The Standards of Quality formula is a big concern for many Virginians because it is antiquated and either needs massive reform or needs to be scrapped and re-fashioned from scratch for a student-based, more efficient education funding system. This would save hundreds of millions of tax dollars that could be re-prioritized. Do you see an opportunity to address this at some point in the near future?

Majority Leader Morgan Griffith: No. I don’t believe the prospects for any substantive government reform in any area are promising under the current administration.

Familyfoundationblog: Everyone is curious now about the leadership’s reaction to the Supreme Court’s decision on the regional transportation authorities. Did you agree with the decision and did you think it is a good one?

Majority Leader Morgan Griffith: The Court’s decision was well-reasoned, and there were some aspects of it that did not come entirely as a surprise. For legislators, though, the decision was frustrating. The bill that left the General Assembly would have complied with the Court’s requirement that an elected body would have to impose the taxes. The Governor’s amendments changed that aspect, and it was those amendments the Court struck down.

This was not the first time that a portion of HB 3202 fell into disfavor because of the Kaine Administration’s amendments. The controversy over abusive driver fees was largely fueled by the public’s rejection that the fees applied only to Virginia drivers. This was not the case when the bill left the General Assembly. The Kaine Administration made that alteration. In that case, the change was not disclosed in the Administration’s briefing to the General Assembly on its amendments to HB 3202.

Familyfoundationblog: Are tax and fee increases the only things lawmakers are looking at? Why not make real cuts and/or prioritize tax dollars out of the General Fund toward transportation funding if it’s that much of a crisis?

Majority Leader Morgan Griffith: Actually, the House passed a bill during last year’s Special Session that would do just that, dedicating the growth of current revenue stream — income from Virginia’s ports — directly to transportation. The Administration and the new Democrat Senate majority would not consider any measure that would increase the revenue flow to transportation without increasing taxes. This year, Delegates (Glenn) Oder (R-94, Newport News) and (Dave) Albo (R-42, Fairfax) have made significant improvements to that bill (HB 1579), and the House approved it by a vote of 67 to 31. But as long as the Democrat Senate majority and Governor Kaine insist on tax increases, the prospects for real progress on transportation are seriously diminished.

Familyfoundationblog: Perhaps one of the most talked about moments — and certainly one conservatives relished — of last session was on January 24, when you forced the vote on a couple dozen Democrats who refused to vote on one of their own member’s bills, a bill that would have allowed public employees to bargain collectively (see video here). You made our blog’s Quote of the Day for that! So, please take us through that:

Were you expecting the Democrats not to vote and prepared to force their vote? Or was this a spontaneous reaction? All they had to do was vote present to avoid this, right? Also, many have asked us why did you not record their vote in the affirmative to put them on record for public employee collective bargaining? What other insights can you provide our readers on this rare parliamentary event?

Majority Leader Morgan Griffith: The House Rules are very specific on this. If a member is in their seat but not voting and another member points that out, their vote must be recorded in the negative. This same motion was the first rules motion I made as a second-year delegate in 1995. We were in the minority then and I wanted to learn the rules thoroughly. Now every time there is a tough vote to take, I’m on the lookout for members hiding form the vote. An abstention would have prevented the challenge.

Curiously, the Democrats got over their shyness about expressing their support for collective bargaining later in the session. We ultimately got a vote on this issue, as the Democrat majority in the Senate passed a similar measure. At that point, they went on the record, with an overwhelming number of their caucus voting for an expansion of collective bargaining.

Familyfoundationblog: Mr. Majority Leader, thank you very much for your time during this especially busy period during the General Assembly. We greatly appreciate it and hope you enjoyed answering these questions, and hope you will join us again in the future.

Majority Leader Morgan Griffith: Thank you. The Family Foundation plays a vital role during each General Assembly session, providing members with much-needed information and a well-grounded perspective on the issues that are vital to Virginia’s families. I know our members greatly appreciate the hard work you do on behalf of the families of Virginia.

I am not making this up. In what is a first for Capitol Square Diary, we got both the Bill Of The Day and the QOD in one fell swoop.

Within the last couple of hours in Senate Finance, Senator George Barker (D-39, Fairfax), introduced SB 1497 to create a research authority on Geospatial Health, whatever that is.

Apparently not too many people know as Senators Edd Houck and William Wampler and committee chair Chuck Colgan all expressed some concern about the time available to understand the subject. As Senator John Watkins tried to explain, laughter was heard from the middle of the dais, where Colgan, Houck and the brilliant Senator Janet Howell reside.

When their laughter became noticeable, Colgan blew Howell’s cover. Said the President Pro Tempore to a room of laughter:

“Senator Howell just said, ‘I don’t have to understand it to vote for it.’”

As it is said, the comedy that is best is so because it resonates with a degree of truth. We agree, especially in this case. Sadly, however, in Senator Howell’s case, it also explains volumes.

Again, in Senate Rehabilitation and Social Services, where Senator Ken Cuccinelli (R-37, Fairfax) received the second QOD in the three days we’ve awarded them so far this session.

Senator Harry Blevins (R-14, Chesapeake) introduced a bill concerning private and religiously affiliated day care centers. After some innocent confusion over some amendment language and an explanation in favor of the bill by a representative from the Division of Social Services, Cuccinelli asked:

“You mean we’re actually reducing regulations on these folks?”

When the Social Services rep relied, “yes, we are,” he exclaimed:

“Mark this day down! Move to report!”

Here’s a first. We’ve had Quotes of the Day, reported on odd bills and other unusual public and behind-the-scenes moments around the capitol and during the General Assembly over the last year. This was something different, however.

I was in Senate Rehabilitation and Social Services Committee. Not that I had any business there, but it was the only place to corner a senator I needed to speak to on an important bill. (Tip of the Day: This is how you lobby legislators — you stake them out.)

One should always bring a newspaper or laptop to keep oneself occupied and/or amused during these situations because the legislation discussed can utterly bore you to sleep. (Not entirely bad when you’re putting in 12-14 hour days.) On the other hand, these committee meetings where you have no bills to keep you interested sometimes pleasantly surprise you. Today was a case in point, where I witnessed our first ever Kumbayah Moment Of The Day.

Senator Louis Lucas (D-18, Portsmouth) introduced a bill that had something to do with special use ABC permits. Afraid her verbal demolition of a colleague’s bill the previous day would hurt her bill’s chances of clearing the committee, the flamboyant senator played meek. After introducing the bill and addressing the committee, she said:

“Senator Stuart, I apologize for what I said about your bill yesterday because I need your help now.”

Replied Senator Richard Stuart (R-28, Montross):

“I never hold grudges. I like you too much to hold grudges.”

The bill passed. Rest assured, though, this won’t last — and the fireworks will return. Session is only three days old.

Just last week Governor Tim Kaine made our prestigious quote of the day for saying he would take action on a “green initiative” report given to him because studies don’t gather dust in his administration, yet he didn’t know what was in the study he was just presented so he didn’t know what action he would take.

In yesterday’s Richmond Times-Dispatch he made clear what conservatives say about liberals, and what liberals say about themselves only after elected (though the opposite while campaigning) — to wit, he’s doesn’t believe in reducing government’s spending of your tax dollars: 

“Let’s be realistic. You don’t run for governor to make budget cuts.”

This is not a conservative conspiracy. No one is making this up. Which leads us to ask what we always ask when we read such nonsense:

Why do people believe that liberals will govern contrary to liberal orthodoxy and to what they actually say about themselves?

Yesterday, Governor Tim Kaine received a report from his Commission on Climate Change, because, as you know, the world is melting (based on fabricated statistics from a NASA scientist, see the blog OhMyGov, here, and Debra Saunders of the San Francisco Chronicle, of all papers, here). Apparently, last year wasn’t exactly the warmest ever year on record.

But that’s not necessarily the purpose of this post. The purpose is to congratulate His Excellency, the guvna: As we now know, despite all the alarmists’ claims, we are not in the midst of an overheating globe; despite this, the commonwealth’s global-warming-alarmist-in-chief qualifies for the most painfully contorted spin of the year. Quote the Richmond Times-Dispatch (see article here):

The state Commission on Climate Change unanimously adopted its final report yesterday, and Gov. Timothy M. Kaine indicated he would act on it.

“In my administration, we don’t get reports and put them on shelves,” Kaine told the panel during a meeting in the General Assembly Building.

But then . . .

Outside the meeting room, Kaine declined to specify which recommendations he will move on, saying he wants to read the report first.

Soooooooo, let’s get this straight: He’s going to take action on the report, because he won’t put it on a shelf, but he can’t say what action he will take, because he doesn’t know what’s in the report — but he guarantees it won’t sit on the shelf. He will take action, though on what, no one, not even he, knows. That’s fantastic!

Still later, in a daring feat, he claimed:

But, in one example, he said he supported efforts to increase energy efficiency.

Oh really? I suppose he’ll come out for clean water and air, next, then possibly safe toys for children and expiration dates on milk cartons. Brilliant, sir! Are you sure you don’t want to be Education Secretary? How did Virginia manage without you? Never mind that the Mainstream Media doesn’t pick up on these inanities, even as you state them directly to them — because you, Excellency, have earned today’s Quote of the Day.